Fantastic front three: Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, and Trinity Rodman are the attacking trio taking the USWNT through the Paris Olympics

What a difference twelve months can make. At last summer’s World Cup, the four-time world champions struggled to create chances offensively, tallying just four goals in four games (three against Vietnam) before departing in the Round of 16. But, this summer in France, a dynamic forward force of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith not only looks like the best attacking line at the Olympics, but could potentially stand as one of the greatest USWNT attacking trios of all time.

A winning recipe

One key difference between last summer’s wilting attack and this summer’s fearsome trio is that 26-year-old Mallory Swanson is healthy again. Swanson tore her patella tendon last April, nixing her from the World Cup, though she still ended the year as the team’s top scorer.

With seven goals for Chicago Red Stars this season, Swanson returned to the national team this April and wasted no time finding her stride. In four games, Swanson had three goals and an assist, including a brace against Zambia and a goal against Germany.

Another major difference - perhaps the most consequential decision new manager Emma Hayes has made thus far - is that 35-year-old USWNT legend Alex Morgan is not on the roster. With 123 international goals for the US, Morgan failed to score at last summer’s World Cup, and has taken a dip in form with San Diego Wave.

Hayes’ decision still wasn’t easy, but without Morgan, Smith has moved into the main striker role, allowing the Portland Thorns star to maneuver in her more natural position and get Swanson-Smith-Rodman all on the field at the same time.

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Together, they’ve torn into this tournament, looking like the free-flowing force the fan base had hoped for. Over the course of four games, each member of the USA’s attacking trio has notched four goal contributions. That’s three goals and an assist each for Swanson and Rodman, as well as two goals and two assists from Smith.

With Lindsey Horan and Korbin Albert both tallying goals as well, the US has scored 10 goals against their Olympic opponents, more than any other team. The early signs of a legendary force?

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With qualities that complement one another and work well with Hayes’ vision, the milestones piling up in this tournament point toward early signs of a historic force. After scoring Saturday’s incredible extra-time match-winner against Japan, the 22-year-old Rodman became the first USWNT player to collect a goal contribution in each of her first four games of a major tournament since the legendary duo of Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach in London 2012.

With the team’s first undefeated group stage since 2012 (the last time the team won a gold medal), Smith and Rodman were the first since Morgan and Wambach to notch a goal contribution across every match of the group. The USA’s 2012 gold medal-winning team helped usher in the era of back-to-back World Cup trophies in 2015 and 2019. With this summer’s squad among the youngest the team has fielded in decades, fans may hope the milestones mentioned above could be signs of glory to come.

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How the USWNT attack stacks up

Of course, the US isn’t the only Olympic team with fear-inducing attackers in their ranks. Germany, the semifinal opponent for the U.S., has scored the second most goals in Paris ‘24, with eight goals from six different players. That includes a team-leading three goals from Bayern Munich forward Lea Schüller, who played a key role in qualifying Die Nationalelf for the Olympics over the Netherlands this spring.

Germany’s speed and fitness is formidable, and while they’ve shown they can conjure goals from the air, from set pieces, and from open play (that includes a goal against the US in Group B), they lack the pervasive, multiple-goal scoring threats of the US front three.

Beyond Schüller, each of their contributors has tallied one goal. In fact, the only other teams with more than one player tallying multiple goals is Australia and Zambia, whose 6-5 Group B goalfest buoyed multiple players’ tallies.

The reigning World Cup champions, Spain, widely regarded as tournament favorites, has the most formidable attacking talent alongside the U.S. at the Games. As they prepare to face Brazil in the semifinal, La Roja have notched seven goals from six different players, including two absolutely stunning contributions from two-time Ballon d’Or winner and Barcelona midfielder, Alexia Putellas.

With players contributing goals from each line of their field– defense, midfield and forwards, part of Spain’s threat is never quite knowing who will strike. Another notable Spanish advantage is their world class ability to conjure goals from thin air.

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Unlike the US, Spain has trailed against multiple opponents, including Colombia and Japan. But their unbelievable depth of talent takes hold of the game each time. That includes in their most recent quarterfinal clash with Colombia, when the team trailed 2-0 until the 79th minute. La Roja’s all-time leading scorer, Jenni Hermoso, came off the bench to collect their first goal.

The team’s captain center back Irene Paredes then made it 2-2 in the seventh minute of stoppage time. They won in penalties to move on. Just imagine: you’re exhausted, short on subs, and in comes Jenni Hermoso with fresh legs on the other side. Terrifying.

Other teams have relied on the dominance of one individual to get them through, which ultimately wasn’t enough to lift the team. That includes Zambia, whose hat-trick from Barbra Banda against Australia wasn’t enough to clinch the win, nor were her four goals overall enough to escape Group B.

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Ahead of the semifinal, the tournament’s leading scorer was PSG striker Marie-Antoinette Katototo, whose five goals overall weren’t enough to break Les Bleues’ quarter-final curse, as the team ultimately fell to Brazil. Only one other player scored a goal for France this summer (Kenza Dali). And in the first match Katoto failed to score, they lost the game.

Overall, what sets this U.S. attacking trio apart is the pervasive threat that comes from each one of them, as together they prove capable of notching goal after goal. No other attacking line in this tournament has come close to the collective output of the U.S. front three.

Much remains to be seen, both in this tournament, as well as into the future of the USWNT. But the still blossoming partnership between Swanson, Smith and Rodman has the potential to be remembered for a long, long time.